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Germany has received its first F-35 fighter jet, the start of a 35-plane order meant to replace its aging Tornado fleet and keep the country in NATO’s nuclear-sharing mission.
Getting into it: Lockheed Martin handed the F-35A over to the German government last week during a ceremony at its Fort Worth, Texas, plant, with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in attendance.
Germany placed the order in 2022, the year Russia invaded Ukraine, in a deal worth roughly €10 billion. Eight of the jets are heading to Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas this fall, where German pilots will train on them. Lockheed Martin expects the first planes to reach Germany in late 2027 and the fleet to be fully operational by 2029.
“This is the beginning of a new era for the German Air Force: the new F-35A fighter jet is the world’s most advanced combat aircraft,” Pistorius said.
The jet’s biggest job is that they can carry nuclear weapons. NATO’s nuclear-sharing arrangement lets Germany and a few other allies carry US nuclear weapons on their own aircraft, but only the US can authorize their use. Pistorius said ahead of the handover that Berlin “want[s] and need[s] to maintain nuclear sharing” and called the F-35 “the only aircraft in the world” that can currently handle that mission.
Roughly 25% of each F-35 comes from European suppliers, and days before the handover, Pistorius and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a statement of intent at the Pentagon, opening the door for German and US firms to co-develop and co-produce military hardware.
